Vanderbilt dismisses Boyd from team after deal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Suspended Vanderbilt receiver Chris Boyd has been dismissed from the football team following his conditional guilty plea for his role in attempting to cover up the rape of an unconscious student.

Vanderbilt announced the decision Tuesday after athletic administrators and coach James Franklin reviewed information in the case from the Sept. 13 hearing where Boyd agreed to a plea deal lowering a felony to a misdemeanor.

"The review concluded that Mr. Boyd's admitted actions are clearly inconsistent with the high standards of behavior expected of our student-athletes," said Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for public affairs, in a statement.

Boyd was Vanderbilt's second-leading receiver in 2012, catching 50 passes for 774 yards and five touchdowns.

But Boyd was indicted Aug. 16 and originally charged with a felony. The junior pleaded guilty Sept. 13 to a misdemeanor in exchange for agreeing to testify against his four former teammates for the rape in a campus dormitory of an unconscious student in June.

At the Sept. 13 hearing, Deputy District Attorney General Tom Thurman said Boyd was called to the dormitory of another player, where he found the woman unconscious and partially clothed in the hallway. The prosecutor said Boyd and two others carried the woman to the bed of a fellow player and then left.

Boyd was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days probation, and his record will be cleared if he successfully completes probation.

Vanderbilt dismissed four players from the team and suspended them from the university June 29 and barred them from campus after noticing an incident on surveillance video when checking something else.

Safety Cory Batey, 19 of Nashville, Tenn.; defensive back Brandon Banks, 19, of Brandywine, Md.; receiver Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, 19, of Woodville, Miss.; and tight end Brandon Vandenburg, 20, of Indio, Calif., were indicted Aug. 9 on five counts of aggravated rape each among other charges.